I Shot An Arrow Into the Air
by plainkidsister
Summary: Christine Chapel dies in an auxiliary shuttle crash. McCoy/Chapel, with a smidge of Chapel/Kirk.


**warnings: **none really

**disclaimer:** i don't own these characters but the plot is all original.

feedback loved!

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"Keptain." Chekov's somber tone makes Kirk rise from his chair and peer at the screen below the young ensign. It flashes red, the words "Shuttle Terminated" blink furiously and Kirk purses his lips. "It was ze auxiliary shuttle, Keptain. Coming back from ze outpost. An engine went out and crashed."

"How many officers?"

"Maybe five? Not much."

"Security?"

"Yes, and maybe one medical?"

"That's enough." Kirk stands to look around the bridge. "Bring up the list of shuttle occupants."

"Yessir." Chekov taps on the screen and a manifest bubbles up, names and photos across the screen. He recognizes a few security officers, Rodriguez and Sanders, and a junior engineer, Levi. The pilot is young fresh-out-of-the-Academy girl by the name of Compton and he sees two medical officers. One is a lab tech, Radha, and the other -

Kirk blanches, spine straightened, and places a hand on Chekov's shoulder. "Contact Starfleet. We need to check the damage site." He steps away and into the turbo lift, gliding up to sickbay. When he exits the lift, he sees Bones at a station, finger pressed against his mouth in concentration. The man is intimidating, lean and strong in his blue uniform, and he barks at a passing nurse who is carrying samples without gloves. The staff stills as Kirk strides through, smiling and nodding, and Bones gives him a flat look.

"Can we talk in your office?" Kirk places a hand on his shoulder, comforting, and Bones raises a brow at the gesture.

"Just spit it out. What've you done this time?"

Kirk swallows. "We need to talk in your office." He pulls rank in his tone and he can tell Bones disapproves, but closes his program and follows the captain to the corner of sickbay. He lets Bones sit but Kirk stays standing, hands behind his back. "We've had a problem."

"With what?" Bones seems irritated and distracted and Kirk almost chooses to leave this alone until the doctor has a glass of whiskey in his hand and his eyes are starting to glaze.

"The auxiliary shuttle."

This catches Bones' attention and the doctor straightens his back. "What kind of problem?"

"It's," Kirk licks his lips, "crashed."

"What do you mean 'crashed'?" Bones places his hands on the desk, teeth bearing with each breath and Kirk stands taller even when his spine is threatening to fold.

"Terminated." Kirk closes his eyes. "No survivors."

Bones' face is turning red, and his eyes are glazed with tears that won't quite fall, and his fists are clenched so tight his knuckles are white. "Was she -?"

"I'm afraid so." The captain pauses and Bones slumps in his chair, hand folded over his eyes. "Bones, I -"

"Out."

Kirk leaves without an argument.

-

"Okay, so we've got Sanders and Levi, and where's Rodriguez?" Christine turns to her bloodied lab tech, Radha, who fumbles with his fractured wrist and then looks directly above them. The sun is burning their faces and Christine's shoulder is aching from the dislocation. They've managed to gather everyone since their emergency ejection and a smoke cloud rises in the distance from their ship's wreckage. Compton, the pilot, is resting by the small brook, legs tucked underneath her bottom.

Sanders and Levi are sitting near her, pushing rocks around with a branch, chatting quietly. They've landed unharmed, thanks to Starfleet regulation ejection seats, except for a few manageable injuries. Now they're marooned in the sweltering heat of a Class IV planet, trying to locate the largest ship in Starfleet and failing miserably.

Radha shields his eyes from the blazing sun and points meekly above them. "Up there."

There a small rustle from the trees and Christine looks up to see the young man struggling with his harness, upside down. His head is split open and Radha gasps when a droplet of blood lands on his nose.

Christine laughs a bit and calls up, "Hey! Stay still!"

"How do I get down?" He's losing strength and Christine fishes in her landing pack for a small laser scalpel and tosses it up to him. He cuts through one, then two straps and slowly returns to his normal position, climbing down a vine and landing firmly in front of her.

She extracts a small pad of gauze to stem his bleeding head wound and instructs him to hold so she can twist her good hand in her pack to find a bandage. As she hands Rodriguez his bandage, the rest of the survivors wander up and they form a circle.

"So, where are we?" Sanders crosses his arms and Christine shrugs. They look at Compton who smiles faintly.

"The radar said we were 3 kilometers east of our original location before we crashed. So if we head," she squints behind her, "that way, we'll find our original outpost."

"I say we just stay here. I mean, the ejection seats should have an alarm right?" Radha wipes his brow with a dirty sleeve.

They turn heads toward Christine, whose eyes widen. "What?"

"You're the highest rank here." Levi purses his lips. "You make the decision."

Christine feels inside her skirt pocket for her comm, only to find it's been reduced to bits and pieces. "Who's got a comm?"

They all pull various parts of what were once communicators from different locations on their packs and Christine sighs. "Levi, can you use these to make one functional comm?"

"I guess," he shrugs, "but it'll only be functional for a short period of time."

"All we need is 'Beam us up, Scotty!', so you're in luck." Christine nods in the direction behind Compton. "Let's head that way."

-

Kirk looks at the charred pieces of shuttle and his heart drops. It still steaming, unrecognizable, and Uhura walks around, shaking her head sadly when Kirk asks of she can salvage anything.

He beams back up to the ship and avoids questions, walking briskly to McCoy's quarters. He chimes once and McCoy answers slowly, his hair in disarray and his upper body is naked. Kirk notices the drawers of clothes have been turned out and distinctly feminine pieces are strewn across the chair and bed, a bottle of gin waiting half-empty nearby.

"D'you find anything?" McCoy's voice is hoarse and he half-heartedly pulls on a shirt while Kirk takes a seat on the couch.

"No. Too much damage to really save anything from it." Kirk leans back, palms on his stomach and McCoy's hands shake as he pours the captain a drink. He thrusts the glass at the young man, who takes it warily and sips. They stay silent and McCoy sits down gingerly to scrape fingers across his two-day-old beard and stare at the bleak walls of his quarters. Kirk busies himself with the alcohol, drinking it slowly and watching the liquid drip down the edge of the glass. "Listen, Bones, I -"

"I should've gone with her." The doctor hangs his head low. "There should've been at least one senior officer present. She wasn't ready to lead -"

Kirk laughs, high and quick. "Are we talking about the same person? Christine Chapel?"

"Damnit Jim -"

"The woman walks all over you." Kirk settles back, comfortable now that the doctor is arguing. "I'm sure she could lead a few brown-nosers around a harmless planet."

"She has no command experience and she's too damn impulsive for her own good." McCoy's eyes are bright and Kirk's heart leaps into his throat.

"I trust her, Bones, despite her choice in romantic partners."

McCoy shoots him a bitter smile. "Is it insubordination if I kick your ass?"

Kirk opens his grinning mouth to respond but is interrupted by his comm, chiming loudly. "Go ahead."

"Captain, Starfleet is ordering a return to Earth tomorrow. A landing team brought up all the debris from the crash and it's in storage." Uhura clears her throat, the comm crackles, and Bones looks back down at his drink.

"Set a course for Earth at 0800. That should be enough time to write up the letters to the families. Kirk out." He closes the device and moves to stand, setting his glass down. Bones tenses and turns his head away from Kirk. "If you feel up to it, I'd like you to write a letter to Chris' -"

"Go away."

Kirk obeys, drinking the last of the alcohol, and exits quietly.

-

"Nurse Chapel, where are we?"

Christine grits her teeth and looks up at the sky to find her bearings. She's managed to get them one and half kilometers in the right direction without any trouble. Except for the mud. She cringes at the feeling of it squishing between her toes as she jumps down from the tree stump.

Her companions are looking a little worse for the wear and Sanders is still shaking from being pulled from quicksand. Chapel's pain medication is wearing off and her uniform is starting to gather some stink, enough that she catches a small whiff when she moves an arm or a leg.

"Levi, how's that comm coming?" She makes her way over to the curly-haired ensign, who's been hard at work on the remnants of the collected communicators.

"It's, um, coming." He extends a partially put-together device and Christine bites the inside of her lip with a frown. It's getting late and they're all restless and she doesn't have any more rations. She wishes Leonard were here or even Captain Kirk, but mostly she just wants Leonard. He's smart and used to be a Boy Scout, so he knows more about survival than she'd ever learned in her brief stint as a Girl Scout. She hadn't been good at selling cookies or making friendship bracelets but more apt to rescuing hurt animals and kicking ass in dodge ball.

Now she's running Sickbay with the same bravado she used to pelt kids with red rubber balls and it still brings the same tingling satisfaction.

"Okay, well, let's continue. We're almost back to the original post." She turns to the young pilot, who's been quiet the whole journey. "Lead the way?"

They travel down and around tree remnants, old animal bones and along a struggling brook until they see the tents they've left billowing in the wind. Christine looks up instinctively but there is no sign of the ship, hovering in the atmosphere and she sighs. They sit next to the tents and Levi works diligently on the communicator while they scrounge around for food left in the disposable bins. Christine sits beside her pilot, Compton, placing her good hand on the girl's shoulder to comfort her. Compton flinches and Christine finds herself curious about this young woman who she's never seen until this unfortunate afternoon.

"So, what's your first name?" Christine settles herself into the ground and the girl looks up from her hands to smile softly.

"Fiona," she finally murmurs and Christine grins her nursing smile, the same look she reserves for children and the elderly. "What's yours?"

"Christine." She shoots Compton a disgusted look and the girl grins a little wider, her brown hair blowing across her face. Her cheeks are blistered and peeling and Christine digs around in her pack for a salve. She extends it and Compton takes it, spreading it on her cheeks in a slow motion.

Christine is tucking it away when Compton asks, "Do you think we'll get back?"

"I can't say." She smirks at her companion. "You want to get back to work?"

"No, I just -" but she drops her head and Christine can tell she's holding back something. Christine places her good hand back on the girl's shoulder and squeezes, urging her to go on. She does, her voice choking a bit. "I need to see him again."

"Oh?" is all Christine can manage because the comment hits her square in the chest, something she hadn't expected. Sure, she misses him (she does whenever he's not in the vicinity) but the situation is changing. She looks around at the band of misfits, with torn and bloodied clothing, sitting aimlessly on makeshift seats and looking strung out. She feels responsible for all of this, all of _them_ and wants nothing more to be back with Leonard on their ship where's it sterile and quiet.

"Christine?" Now it's Compton who's reaching out a hand to comfort and Christine takes it graciously.

"I know exactly how you feel," is her reply and Christine stands, cradling her aching shoulder and looking around. "Anyone ready to move on? It's going to be dark -"

Radha leaps up and points a skinny finger in the direction they're all drawn to because of the loud hum in the atmosphere. Christine feels her mouth go dry as dust is kicked up around them and shouts of glee echo behind her.

It's the _Enterprise_.

-

Kirk isn't surprised when McCoy doesn't show up for the memorial ceremony, a quick and dirty ritual that was conjured up to prepare for the trip back to Earth. It's short and most of the nurses in Sickbay are in tears by the time Chapel's photo shows on the screen. Kirk takes a moment to gaze at the young portrait of the _Enterprise_'s former Head Nurse, taken just after she enlisted. She's happy, her lips quirking in a slight smile, and her blonde hair curled almost perfectly around her head.

He grimaces and his chest tightens; she meant a great deal to McCoy, to her staff, and he didn't even know her that well.

People begin to file out and he watches them go back to their positions with puffy red eyes and a new mentality that life is precious and things that will be forgotten in a week when Klingons attack again.

He's in his personal quarters when McCoy arrives with a bottle of scotch and a request.

"Do you have that picture of Christine in her uniform? I'd like to have it." The doctor sits heavily on the couch, cradling his drink.

"Sure." Kirk cocks his head to the side in curiosity. "You don't have pictures of her? Of you two together?"

"No." McCoy downs his drink and extends his arm for another. Kirk pours it, taking a swig straight from the bottle, and hisses when it sears the back of his throat. He's not used to the strength of McCoy's self-medicating liquids, a fact that makes the doctor grin with delight on most occasions. But the dark look in McCoy's eyes suggests he's far from any sort of earthly delight, even if it comes in the form of embarrassing or mutilating the captain.

"A lot of people cared for her," Kirk clears his throat and sets the glass aside, "she was a good friend."

"Makes you wonder why she cared for a sad son-of-a-bitch like me." There's a hint of sadistic humor in McCoy's voice that gives Kirk a little hope.

"She was probably the only person who could care for you. Willing to overlook your shortcomings to see you for the man you really are, which is a good man."

There is a pregnant pause, heavy, and Kirk continues. "I'm going to miss her."

"You didn't know her." The bitterness makes a raging comeback and Kirk grinds his teeth.

"She was important to you, to this ship. My job is to lead this crew, every one of you, and I can't do that without people willing to step up. She did that without hesitation."

"I'm going to miss what she meant to this ship and to the people I love. I wish I could've made more time to know her like you did."

Kirk's heart does the aching twist again and he rubs his brow until it dissipates. He turns to see McCoy rising to make an exit with wobbling knees and reaches a hand to steady his friend. McCoy shrugs him off, making a beeline for the door and Kirk calls out, "Sickbay still needs you."

"I know," McCoy mumbles on his way out.

-

"_How do we get up there?" _

A simple question is turning into a decidedly complicated situation as the travelers roam beneath the mammoth starship, looking for a way in. Christine was relieved to see the ship, hovering in a sandy valley on the edge of the trees, but now she's afraid they'll fly off without an inkling that the lost crew made their way back to the ship.

"The communicator?" Christine turns around and a disgruntled Levi shakes his head. She bites the inside of her lip and looks back at the ship. She notices large rocks next to her soiled shoes and reaches her good arm down to pick one up. She hasn't retained much from her command classes but she remembers from a tactical course that each Federation ship is equipped with structural sensors that can detect something as small as asteroid dust. She laughs at the mental notes she had taken at the time - _Note to self: Don't graffiti a starship_ - and grips the rock in her hand.

Bending her elbow, she launches the rock toward the base of the ship with enough force to knock her on her rear. It makes a resounding CLANK! and her company comes over to help her up.

"What the hell are you doing?" Rodriguez musters up enough energy to yell in her face and loom over her, an act that doesn't make her flinch. Spending ten hours a day with a hot-tempered boss, who is also her lover, has sharpened her senses to empty threats. She expects them from Leonard, who mentally abuses himself for sleeping with a subordinate and feels like he needs to be harsher on her to cover up their relationship.

He's like a broken record and she lets him carry on until he apologizes because the make-up sex is hot and a girl needs something to look forward to in the midst of surgeries and burns.

Rodriguez stops his assault as the ship makes a strange noise and they all step back from under its shadow. It rears up, buzzing loudly, engines gunning and she watches the exterior lights flicker on.

They all turn when the distinct sound of transporting bodies appears behind them and three young, angry security officers point phasers at them.

"We're Starfleet officers!" Christine yells out, palms up in surrender and they circle around until one eases back and tucks his phaser into his pocket.

"State your name and rank." He glares at Christine, who puts her hands down and straightens up.

"Christine Chapel, lieutenant junior grade and Head Nurse on the _Enterprise_." The officers glance at each other, confused, and she swallows. Maybe this is a mirage or they've stumbled into an alternate universe where -

"Nurse Chapel is deceased." The mouthy one purses his lips and Christine laughs loudly, causing more confusion amongst the large group.

"No, she's very much alive," Christine giggles, "and in need of her doctor." She wonders if anyone catches her slip but their expressions don't change. They stare at her warily and a communicator goes off.

"Kirk to O'Leary. You find out what's going on?"

He smiles, flips open the comm. "Affirmative." He looks Christine up and down nastily and continues. "We've got six humanoids claiming to be Starfleet officers. Permission to beam them aboard?"

"Permission granted. Kirk out."

The officers round up the survivors harshly, pushing them into a circle and one shoves hard on Christine's injured arm. She winces but takes the blow, pressing up against Compton who looks absolutely terrified. The familiar feeling of nausea creeps up as they are beamed up and into the transporter room.

Scotty's there and his face grows ashen with the sight of the lost crew. No one speaks and the three security officers step off of the pad, tucking their phasers into their holsters and looking absolutely confused.

Kirk comes strutting in, his yeoman in tow and he stumbles when he sees her. She smiles, and steps down from her place on the transporter, murmuring, "Glad to see you too."

-

"This can't be happening." Kirk rubs his face again and Christine cocks her head to the side, grinning softly.

"What can't be happening?" She raises her brows and her mouth makes an 'o'. "Oh, you mean the fact that we're supposed to be dead?"

"Yeah." Kirk shakes his head in annoyance. "What happened down there?"

"Well, the engine shut off and Compton couldn't make a safe landing. So we ejected and landed not-so-gracefully in the trees about 3 kilometers from where we were."

"You need to get to Sickbay?" He motions to her hurt arm and she shrugs lightly.

"I can deal right now. I just thought you might want to know what really happened, before you do anything drastic." She gives him a sly smile. "Like throw a funeral for us."

"Don't you have some nursing to do?" He teases and she turns to leave, chuckling lightly as she walks to the hall. Kirk's heart flutters and he shakes his head.

Christine walks down to the turbo lift, charting her course for Sickbay, garnering ghastly stares. She ignores them, eager to get something to eat, kiss Leonard silly, and sleep for five days. Maybe not in that exact order but nevertheless she's bound and determined to complete them.

Sickbay is busy and the tension is high, so high it makes Christine's pulse jump. No one stops to look, let alone recognize her, and she walks to the CMO's office to call on Len. Her nausea returns with the fear that he's been emotional about her and even more with the fear that he's forgotten her so quickly.

The door swishes open and Leonard snarls, "Yes?"

"Hello?" She tries to smile at his assault but his face goes pale and chin trembles. They stand there, drinking in the presence of each other until he grabs her bad arm and pulls her in. She squeals in pain and he lets go, eyes flicking to her arm and then to her face.

"Dislocated. Think you can -" but his lips stop her talking, words muffled into his open, delving mouth. She kisses back eagerly albeit a bit hesitant until she feels his tears mixing with their tongues. He makes a desperate sound and breaks from the kiss, clasping her face between two large hands and leaning in close to her face.

"What happened?" He punctuates each word with a sad sound and she lifts up a finger to delicately wipe his cheeks. He looks vulnerable, the lines in his face deepening and it's the first time he looks his age. Strange thing is that it's attractive as hell and she bites her lip absent-mindedly.

"Nothing I couldn't get myself out of." She winks saucily and he opens his mouth to say something smart-ass but she kisses him again. He tugs her shirt to the side and pulls away when he sees the discoloration on her shoulder joint.

"We need to get this taken care of." He gingerly strips away the remnants of her uniform and tests the joint in his hands, tracing over each swelling lump with a long finger.

She wills herself not to but her body reacts to the gentle touch, gooseflesh spreading across her chest and she sighs. His full lips quirk and he lifts his chin, eyes ghosting over each feature of her face. "I see your mind is still where I left it."

"How about you fix me up Doctor and then _fix me up?" _He pulls her uniform back over her shoulder and gives her a quick kiss on the mouth.

-

Kirk strolls along the corridor to Sickbay, whistling lightly and nodding at crewmembers who greet him. Deck G is always an interesting place to be and Kirk can always count on hearing Bones' bellow even if the captain is just passing through to another section.

He's had a hell of a week explaining his "ghost" crew to the suits at Starfleet, a task that was easier said than done. Christine has been a dream, filling out paperwork - well, technically, he's the one filling out but she's dictating because of her arm - and basically smoothing down the ruffled feathers of their benefactors. He would fall in love with her but that pesky boyfriend of hers is always tagging along, threatening Kirk with a live autopsy if she doesn't get her rest.

He finds Christine at the entrance to Sickbay, assisting the engineer who's been sent up to change some of the lighting near the door. She smiles fiendishly at Kirk, who shoots only puts on his most innocent surprised look, and walks to him, leaving the engineer to fight with cords.

"Captain." She appraises him, lifting a brow. "What can I do for you?"

"That's such a loaded question, Nurse," Kirk tuts, placing a finger on his mouth in mock thought. She brushes a stray hair from his shoulder and laughs as she turns to walk back to the nurses' station. Kirk sees her hurt arm tucked neatly to her side, immobile, and the yellowing of a healing bruise just visible from the collar of her tunic.

"I suspect you have a reason to be here." She pulls out a data PADD to examine something and then looks up at him. "Do I need to get you a bed?"

"No, nothing like that," Kirk shakes his head and watches her work. She's gentle, attentive, and he admires it. A moment goes by and she looks up through her lashes at him.

"What did he do?"

"Nothing!" He pauses, lick his lips. "I just wanted to see you."

She tilts her head and narrows her eyes, face changing from friendly to critical. "He told me you were acting funny before I came back." She sighs and looks back down at her PADD. "If you're in love with me, I'm sorry. A bottle of whiskey, a box of chocolates, and a good cry is all you need to get over me -"

"Christine," Kirk interrupts her teasing and leans toward her, elbows resting on the surface of the table, "I just wanted to say how grateful I am you're on this ship."

"So, a thank you? Not a marriage proposal?"

"Yes. And I think we should be friends."

"Because I'm sleeping with your best friend? Is it really that awkward?"

Okay, he likes her. A lot. "No, I just think we have a lot in common. We both annoy him but for some reason, he can't help but love us."

She takes a deep breath and shoots out her good hand. "I'm Christine. What's your name again?"


End file.
